France’s Hollande drops plan to revoke citizenship of terrorists

French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech during a ceremony of commemoration for the end of the Algeria war in Paris on March 19, 2016.<br />Hollande defended his choice to commemorate the cease-fire of March 19, 1962 in Algeria to honor the victims of this conflict by explaining that this date marked “not yet peace” but “the beginning of the outcome the war”. The presidential initiative was disputed by many associations of veterans and Pieds-noir for whom this date does not mark the end of the Algerian conflict but the beginning of the exile and massacre of civilians and harkis. / AFP / POOL / Christophe Petit Tesson

French President Francois Hollande announced yesterday that he abandoned his plan for a constitutional change that included a measure to strip the citizenship of French-born terrorists.

He first proposed the reform after the November terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded more than 350 others, but France’s Senate and National Assembly were not able to agree on the text.

Hollande said yesterday that he was trying to unite the country and show that it would respond in the face of terrorism.

The proposal met opposition from those who feared it would unfairly target Muslims. Some compared it to the revocation of citizenship of French Jews during World War II.

The country’s justice minister resigned in January after objecting to Hollande’s plan.